The Most Famous

SINGERS from Italy

This page contains a list of the greatest Italian Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 4,381 Singers, 135 of which were born in Italy. This makes Italy the birth place of the 5th most number of Singers behind South Korea, and France.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Singers of all time. This list of famous Italian Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Singers.

1. Luciano Pavarotti (1935 - 2007)

With an HPI of 78.32, Luciano Pavarotti is the most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 95 different languages on wikipedia.

Luciano Pavarotti (, US also , Italian: [luˈtʃaːno pavaˈrɔtti]; 12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for his tone, and gaining the nickname "King of the High Cs". As one of the Three Tenors, who performed their first concert during the 1990 FIFA World Cup before a global audience, Pavarotti became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. From the beginning of his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy to his final performance of "Nessun dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Pavarotti was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles, and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca, Turandot and Madama Butterfly. He sold over 100 million records, and the first Three Tenors recording became the best-selling classical album of all time. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1988, and died from pancreatic cancer on 6 September 2007.

2. Toto Cutugno (1943 - 2023)

With an HPI of 77.30, Toto Cutugno is the 2nd most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 74 different languages.

Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (Italian: [ˈtɔːto kuˈtuɲɲo]; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 held in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia, with the song "Insieme: 1992", for which he wrote both the lyrics and music. He has been described as "one of the most popular singers in Italy and a symbol of Italian melody abroad", as well as "one of the most popular Italian performers on a global scale" and "one of the most successful Italian songwriters of all time", selling over 100 million records worldwide.

3. Adriano Celentano (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 75.53, Adriano Celentano is the 3rd most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 75 different languages.

Adriano Celentano (Italian: [adriˈaːno tʃelenˈtaːno]; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed Il Molleggiato ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and critical success. With around 150 million records sold worldwide, he is the second best-selling Italian musical artist. Often credited as the author of both the music and lyrics of his songs, according to his wife Claudia Mori, some were written in collaboration with others. Due to his prolific career, both in Italy and abroad, he is considered one of the pillars of Italian music. Celentano is recognized for being particularly perceptive of changes in the music business and is credited for having introduced rock and roll to Italy. As an actor, Celentano has appeared in 39 films, mostly comedies.

4. Enrico Caruso (1873 - 1921)

With an HPI of 74.60, Enrico Caruso is the 4th most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 73 different languages.

Enrico Caruso (, US also , Italian: [enˈriːko kaˈruːzo]; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. Generally recognized as the first international recording star, Caruso made around 250 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920.

5. Farinelli (1705 - 1782)

With an HPI of 72.66, Farinelli is the 5th most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Farinelli (Italian pronunciation: [fariˈnɛlli]; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (pronounced [ˈkarlo ˈbrɔski]), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli has been described as having had soprano vocal range and as having sung the highest note customary at the time, C6.

6. Albano Carrisi (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 71.13, Albano Carrisi is the 6th most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Albano Antonio Carrisi (Italian: [alˈbaːno karˈriːzi]; born 20 May 1943), better known as Al Bano, is an Italian tenor and actor. Having sold over 25 million records globally and career spanning seven decades, he is one of the most recognisable Italian singers in the world. He has gained worldwide notability due to his four and a half octave vocal range as well as his personal and professional association with Romina Power, daughter of Hollywood actor Tyrone Power, lasting until the 1990s. Carrisi is acclaimed for singing with operatic affinity in pop, rock and italo disco repertoires with extensive head voice and minimal usage of falsetto vocal register. As of 2023, he has participated in 15 editions of the Sanremo Music Festival, tying the record for most participations with Anna Oxa, Milva, Peppino di Capri and Toto Cutugno; this includes a victory in 1984 duetting with Power. He additionally took part in the Sanremo Giovani selection in 1965. In 2016, he was awarded Albanian citizenship due to his close ties with the country and a forename referring to the land.

7. Andrea Bocelli (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 69.61, Andrea Bocelli is the 7th most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 90 different languages.

Andrea Bocelli (Italian: [anˈdrɛːa boˈtʃɛlli]; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli signed his first recording contract with Sugar Music. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing "Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 80 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts. His album Romanza is one of the best-selling albums of all time, while Sacred Arias is the biggest selling classical album by any solo artist in history. My Christmas was the best-selling holiday album of 2009 and one of the best-selling holiday albums in the United States. The 2019 album Sì debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and US Billboard 200, becoming Bocelli's first number-one album in both countries. His song "Con te partirò", included on his second album Bocelli, is one of the best-selling singles of all time. In 1998, Bocelli was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. He duetted with Celine Dion on the song "The Prayer" for the animated film Quest for Camelot, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1999, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. He captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records with the release of his classical album Sacred Arias, as he simultaneously held the top three positions on the US Classical Albums charts. Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2006, and was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 2 March 2010, for his contribution to Live Theater, and he was awarded a gold medal for Merit in Serbia in 2022. Singer Celine Dion has said that "if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli", and record producer David Foster has often described Bocelli's voice as the most beautiful in the world.

8. Salvatore Adamo (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 68.52, Salvatore Adamo is the 8th most famous Italian Singer. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Salvatore Adamo (November 1, 1943) is a Belgian-Italian musician, singer and composer, who is known for his romantic ballads. Adamo was born in Comiso, Sicily, Italy, and has lived in Belgium since the age of three, which is why he has dual citizenship. Through his career, he sold more than 80 million albums and 20 million singles worldwide, making him the best-selling Belgian artist of all time, and one of the most commercially successful musicians in the world. He first gained popularity throughout Europe and later in the Middle East, Latin America, Japan, and the United States. Adamo mainly performs in French but has also sung in Italian, Dutch, English, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Turkish. "Tombe la neige", "La nuit", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?", "Inch'Allah" and "Petit bonheur" remain his best known songs. Since 2001 Adamo holds the Belgian noble title of Ridder, similar to the English title of "Knight".

9. Renata Tebaldi (1922 - 2004)

With an HPI of 65.74, Renata Tebaldi is the 9th most famous Italian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Renata Tebaldi (US: tə-BAHL-dee, Italian: [reˈnaːta teˈbaldi]; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. Often considered among the great opera singers of the 20th century, she focused primarily on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires. Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini called her voice "la voce d'angelo" ("the voice of an angel"), and La Scala music director Riccardo Muti called her "one of the greatest performers with one of the most extraordinary voices in the field of opera."

10. Renata Scotto (1934 - 2023)

With an HPI of 65.62, Renata Scotto is the 10th most famous Italian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Renata Scotto (24 February 1934 – 16 August 2023) was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the preeminent opera singers of her generation. For more than 40 years, she performed in some 45 roles, first in Italy, then as a leading soprano of the Metropolitan Opera (Met). She is remembered especially for the title roles of Verdi's La traviata, performed for her stage debut in Milan in 1952, and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which was her first role at the Met and her last there in 1987, but also for belcanto works such as Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. She appeared in the first telecast from the Met in 1977, as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, alongside Luciano Pavarotti and conducted by James Levine. She later expanded her repertoire by roles such as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, Elle in Poulenc's La voix humaine, and Madame Flora in Menotti's The Medium. As opera director she worked for the Met, the Arena di Verona, and other leading opera houses.

People

Pantheon has 145 people classified as Italian singers born between 1619 and 2003. Of these 145, 90 (62.07%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Italian singers include Adriano Celentano, Albano Carrisi, and Andrea Bocelli. The most famous deceased Italian singers include Luciano Pavarotti, Toto Cutugno, and Enrico Caruso. As of April 2024, 10 new Italian singers have been added to Pantheon including Tony Renis, Fedora Barbieri, and Fred Buscaglione.